Like France, Italy employs a wine-naming convention based on geographic origin rather than on grape type. Chianti, then, is a place, a winegrowing zone just south of Florence. It is further subdivided into the sub-zones Classico, Rufina, Montalbano, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Arentini, Colli Pisane, and Colli Senese. In the past, the government-mandated "recipe" for Chianti specified not only Sangiovese but Canaiolo and some white grapes as well. That's no longer the case, however, and the use of white grapes is practically unknown today, with Canaiolo, Colorino, and even Cabernet and Merlot being permitted (up to a 10% for the last two).   More

Like France, Italy employs a wine-naming convention based on geographic origin rather than on grape type. Chianti, then, is a place, a winegrowing zone just south of Florence. It is further subdivided into the sub-zones Classico, Rufina, Montalbano, Colli Fiorentini, Colli Arentini, Colli Pisane, and Colli Senese. In the past, the government-mandated "recipe" for Chianti specified not only Sangiovese but Canaiolo and some white grapes as well. That's no longer the case, however, and the use of white grapes is practically unknown today, with Canaiolo, Colorino, and even Cabernet and Merlot being permitted (up to a 10% for the last two).

Chianti's similarities with other Sangiovese-base wines outweigh the differences: it too has an underlying firmess, dark berry fruit, and fairly high acidity. For a relatively inexpensive wine, Chianti can often age better and longer than you would expect.   Less